February 5, 2010

I thought Turkey was relatively secular and modern. Evidently I was wrong. Or maybe there are two Turkeys, the secular and modern big-city version, and the deeply religious and impoverished one.

Turkish police have recovered the body of a 16-year-old girl they say was buried alive by relatives, according to The Guardian. The apparent crime was done in an "honor" killing, carried out as punishment for talking to boys.

Her father and grandfather are said to have been arrested and held in custody pending trial. It is unclear whether they have been charged. The girl's mother was arrested but was later released.

Media reports said the father had told relatives he was unhappy that his daughter – one of nine children – had male friends. The grandfather is said to have beaten her for having relations with the opposite sex.

The murderers killed a girl because she was talking to a boy? Unconscionable. But let's not single out Turkey. The United States also has its version of the Taliban. It's called the Religious Right.

The details of the case are blood-curdling. A post-mortem examination showed "large amounts of soil in her lungs and stomach, indicating that she had been alive and conscious while being buried." (Italics mine.)

What is it about the ultra-religious of every cultural background that they can justify the oppression of women?

Check out this Gallup poll that says Asian Americans are less religious than other racial, ethnic groups:

Generally speaking, Americans who are less religious tend to be more Democratic and more liberal than Americans who are more religious, and Asians seem to follow this pattern. Comparatively, Asian-Americans tend to be less religious than those in other racial or ethnic groups. For example, just over half of Asians say religion is an important part of their daily lives, significantly lower than the percentage of whites, blacks, or Hispanics who say this.

The poll is about Americans' political leanings. Asian-Americans tend to be more Democratic and more liberal than average Americans, and supported Barack Obama over John McCain by a roughly 2-to-1 margin.